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38 KiB
Plaintext
617 lines
38 KiB
Plaintext
Urantia Book Paper 146 First Preaching Tour Of Galilee
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SPIRITWEB ORG, PROMOTING SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE INTERNET.
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
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of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
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Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
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Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
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Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
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Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
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The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
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Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
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The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
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In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
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Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
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Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
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Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
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Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
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Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
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Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
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Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
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Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
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Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
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To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem ...
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Paper 146 First Preaching Tour Of Galilee
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Introduction
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THE first public preaching tour of Galilee began on Sunday, January 18, A.D.
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28, and continued for about two months, ending with the return to Capernaum on
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March 17. On this tour Jesus and the twelve apostles, assisted by the former
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apostles of John, preached the gospel and baptized believers in Rimmon,
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Jotapata, Ramah, Zebulun, Iron, Gischala, Chorazin, Madon, Cana, Nain, and
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Endor. In these cities they tarried and taught, while in many other smaller
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towns they proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom as they passed through.
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This was the first time Jesus permitted his associates to preach without
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restraint. On this tour he cautioned them on only three occasions; he
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admonished them to remain away from Nazareth and to be discreet when passing
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through Capernaum and Tiberias. It was a source of great satisfaction to the
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apostles at last to feel they were at liberty to preach and teach without
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restriction, and they threw themselves into the work of preaching the gospel,
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ministering to the sick, and baptizing believers, with great earnestness and
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joy.
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1. PREACHING AT RIMMON
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The small city of Rimmon had once been dedicated to the worship of a Babylonian
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god of the air, Ramman. Many of the earlier Babylonian and later Zoroastrian
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teachings were still embraced in the beliefs of the Rimmonites; therefore did
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Jesus and the twenty-four devote much of their time to the task of making plain
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the difference between these older beliefs and the new gospel of the kingdom.
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Peter here preached one of the great sermons of his early career on "Aaron and
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the Golden Calf."
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Although many of the citizens of Rimmon became believers in Jesus' teachings,
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they made great trouble for their brethren in later years. It is difficult to
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convert nature worshipers to the full fellowship of the adoration of a
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spiritual ideal during the short space of a single lifetime.
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Many of the better of the Babylonian and Persian ideas of light and darkness,
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good and evil, time and eternity, were later incorporated in the doctrines of
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so-called Christianity, and their inclusion rendered the Christian teachings
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more immediately acceptable to the peoples of the Near East. In like manner,
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the inclusion of many of Plato's theories of the ideal spirit or invisible
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patterns of all things visible and material, as later adapted by Philo to the
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Hebrew theology, made Paul's Christian teachings more easy of acceptance by the
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western Greeks.
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It was at Rimmon that Todan first heard the gospel of the kingdom, and he later
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carried this message into Mesopotamia and far beyond. He was among the first to
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preach the good news to those who dwelt beyond the Euphrates.
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top of page - 1638
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2. AT JOTAPATA
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While the common people of Jotapata heard Jesus and his apostles gladly and
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many accepted the gospel of the kingdom, it was the discourse of Jesus to the
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twenty-four on the second evening of their sojourn in this small town that
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distinguishes the Jotapata mission. Nathaniel was confused in his mind about
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the Master's teachings concerning prayer, thanksgiving, and worship, and in
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response to his question Jesus spoke at great length in further explanation of
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his teaching. Summarized in modern phraseology, this discourse may be presented
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as emphasizing the following points:
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1. The conscious and persistent regard for iniquity in the heart of man
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gradually destroys the prayer connection of the human soul with the spirit
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circuits of communication between man and his Maker. Naturally God hears the
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petition of his child, but when the human heart deliberately and persistently
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harbors the concepts of iniquity, there gradually ensues the loss of personal
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communion between the earth child and his heavenly Father.
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2. That prayer which is inconsistent with the known and established laws of God
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is an abomination to the Paradise Deities. If man will not listen to the Gods
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as they speak to their creation in the laws of spirit, mind, and matter, the
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very act of such deliberate and conscious disdain by the creature turns the
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ears of spirit personalities away from hearing the personal petitions of such
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lawless and disobedient mortals. Jesus quoted to his apostles from the Prophet
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Zechariah: "But they refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and
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stopped their ears that they should not hear. Yes, they made their hearts
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adamant like a stone, lest they should hear my law and the words which I sent
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by my spirit through the prophets; therefore did the results of their evil
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thinking come as a great wrath upon their guilty heads. And so it came to pass
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that they cried for mercy, but there was no ear open to hear." And then Jesus
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quoted the proverb of the wise man who said: "He who turns away his ear from
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hearing the divine law, even his prayer shall be an abomination."
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3. By opening the human end of the channel of the God-man communication,
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mortals make immediately available the ever-flowing stream of divine ministry
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to the creatures of the worlds. When man hears God's spirit speak within the
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human heart, inherent in such an experience is the fact that God simultaneously
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hears that man's prayer. Even the forgiveness of sin operates in this same
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unerring fashion. The Father in heaven has forgiven you even before you have
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thought to ask him, but such forgiveness is not available in your personal
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religious experience until such a time as you forgive your fellow men. God's
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forgiveness in fact is not conditioned upon your forgiving your fellows, but in
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experience it is exactly so conditioned. And this fact of the synchrony of
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divine and human forgiveness was thus recognized and linked together in the
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prayer which Jesus taught the apostles.
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4. There is a basic law of justice in the universe which mercy is powerless to
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circumvent. The unselfish glories of Paradise are not possible of reception by
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a thoroughly selfish creature of the realms of time and space. Even the
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infinite love of God cannot force the salvation of eternal survival upon any
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mortal creature who does not choose to survive. Mercy has great latitude of
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bestowal,
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top of page - 1639
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but, after all, there are mandates of justice which even love combined with
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mercy cannot effectively abrogate. Again Jesus quoted from the Hebrew
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scriptures: "I have called and you refused to hear; I stretched out my hand,
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but no man regarded. You have set at naught all my counsel, and you have
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rejected my reproof, and because of this rebellious attitude it becomes
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inevitable that you shall call upon me and fail to receive an answer. Having
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rejected the way of life, you may seek me diligently in your times of
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suffering, but you will not find me."
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5. They who would receive mercy must show mercy; judge not that you be not
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judged. With the spirit with which you judge others you also shall be judged.
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Mercy does not wholly abrogate universe fairness. In the end it will prove
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true: "Whoso stops his ears to the cry of the poor, he also shall some day cry
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for help, and no one will hear him." The sincerity of any prayer is the
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assurance of its being heard; the spiritual wisdom and universe consistency of
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any petition is the determiner of the time, manner, and degree of the answer. A
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wise father does not literally answer the foolish prayers of his ignorant and
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inexperienced children, albeit the children may derive much pleasure and real
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soul satisfaction from the making of such absurd petitions.
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6. When you have become wholly dedicated to the doing of the will of the Father
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in heaven, the answer to all your petitions will be forthcoming because your
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prayers will be in full accordance with the Father's will, and the Father's
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will is ever manifest throughout his vast universe. What the true son desires
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and the infinite Father wills IS. Such a prayer cannot remain unanswered, and
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no other sort of petition can possibly be fully answered.
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7. The cry of the righteous is the faith act of the child of God which opens
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the door of the Father's storehouse of goodness, truth, and mercy, and these
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good gifts have long been in waiting for the son's approach and personal
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appropriation. Prayer does not change the divine attitude toward man, but it
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does change man's attitude toward the changeless Father. The motive of the
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prayer gives it right of way to the divine ear, not the social, economic, or
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outward religious status of the one who prays.
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8. Prayer may not be employed to avoid the delays of time or to transcend the
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handicaps of space. Prayer is not designed as a technique for aggrandizing self
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or for gaining unfair advantage over one's fellows. A thoroughly selfish soul
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cannot pray in the true sense of the word. Said Jesus: "Let your supreme
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delight be in the character of God, and he shall surely give you the sincere
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desires of your heart." "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will
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act." "For the Lord hears the cry of the needy, and he will regard the prayer
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of the destitute."
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9. "I have come forth from the Father; if, therefore, you are ever in doubt as
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to what you would ask of the Father, ask in my name, and I will present your
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petition in accordance with your real needs and desires and in accordance with
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my Father's will." Guard against the great danger of becoming self-centered in
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your prayers. Avoid praying much for yourself; pray more for the spiritual
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progress of your brethren. Avoid materialistic praying; pray in the spirit and
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for the abundance of the gifts of the spirit.
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10. When you pray for the sick and afflicted, do not expect that your petitions
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will take the place of loving and intelligent ministry to the necessities of
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these afflicted ones. Pray for the welfare of your families, friends, and
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fellows,
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top of page - 1640
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but especially pray for those who curse you, and make loving petitions for
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those who persecute you. "But when to pray, I will not say. Only the spirit
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that dwells within you may move you to the utterance of those petitions which
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are expressive of your inner relationship with the Father of spirits."
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11. Many resort to prayer only when in trouble. Such a practice is thoughtless
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and misleading. True, you do well to pray when harassed, but you should also be
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mindful to speak as a son to your Father even when all goes well with your
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soul. Let your real petitions always be in secret. Do not let men hear your
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personal prayers. Prayers of thanksgiving are appropriate for groups of
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worshipers, but the prayer of the soul is a personal matter. There is but one
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form of prayer which is appropriate for all God's children, and that is:
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"Nevertheless, your will be done."
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12. All believers in this gospel should pray sincerely for the extension of the
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kingdom of heaven. Of all the prayers of the Hebrew scriptures he commented
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most approvingly on the petition of the Psalmist: "Create in me a clean heart,
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O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Purge me from secret sins and keep
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back your servant from presumptuous transgression." Jesus commented at great
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length on the relation of prayer to careless and offending speech, quoting:
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"Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." "The human
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tongue," said Jesus, "is a member which few men can tame, but the spirit within
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can transform this unruly member into a kindly voice of tolerance and an
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inspiring minister of mercy."
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13. Jesus taught that the prayer for divine guidance over the pathway of
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earthly life was next in importance to the petition for a knowledge of the
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Father's will. In reality this means a prayer for divine wisdom. Jesus never
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taught that human knowledge and special skill could be gained by prayer. But he
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did teach that prayer is a factor in the enlargement of one's capacity to
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receive the presence of the divine spirit. When Jesus taught his associates to
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pray in the spirit and in truth, he explained that he referred to praying
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sincerely and in accordance with one's enlightenment, to praying wholeheartedly
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and intelligently, earnestly and steadfastly.
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14. Jesus warned his followers against thinking that their prayers would be
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rendered more efficacious by ornate repetitions, eloquent phraseology, fasting,
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penance, or sacrifices. But he did exhort his believers to employ prayer as a
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means of leading up through thanksgiving to true worship. Jesus deplored that
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so little of the spirit of thanksgiving was to be found in the prayers and
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worship of his followers. He quoted from the Scriptures on this occasion,
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saying: "It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to
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the name of the Most High, to acknowledge his loving-kindness every morning and
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his faithfulness every night, for God has made me glad through his work. In
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everything I will give thanks according to the will of God."
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15. And then Jesus said: "Be not constantly overanxious about your common
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needs. Be not apprehensive concerning the problems of your earthly existence,
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but in all these things by prayer and supplication, with the spirit of sincere
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thanksgiving, let your needs be spread out before your Father who is in
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heaven." Then he quoted from the Scriptures: "I will praise the name of God
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with a song and will magnify him with thanksgiving. And this will please the
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Lord better than the sacrifice of an ox or bullock with horns and hoofs."
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top of page - 1641
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16. Jesus taught his followers that, when they had made their prayers to the
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Father, they should remain for a time in silent receptivity to afford the
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indwelling spirit the better opportunity to speak to the listening soul. The
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spirit of the Father speaks best to man when the human mind is in an attitude
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of true worship. We worship God by the aid of the Father's indwelling spirit
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and by the illumination of the human mind through the ministry of truth.
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Worship, taught Jesus, makes one increasingly like the being who is worshiped.
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Worship is a transforming experience whereby the finite gradually approaches
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and ultimately attains the presence of the Infinite.
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And many other truths did Jesus tell his apostles about man's communion with
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God, but not many of them could fully encompass his teaching.
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3. THE STOP AT RAMAH
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At Ramah Jesus had the memorable discussion with the aged Greek philosopher who
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taught that science and philosophy were sufficient to satisfy the needs of
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human experience. Jesus listened with patience and sympathy to this Greek
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teacher, allowing the truth of many things he said but pointing out that, when
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he was through, he had failed in his discussion of human existence to explain
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"whence, why, and whither," and added: "Where you leave off, we begin. Religion
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is a revelation to man's soul dealing with spiritual realities which the mind
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alone could never discover or fully fathom. Intellectual strivings may reveal
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the facts of life, but the gospel of the kingdom unfolds the truths of being.
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You have discussed the material shadows of truth; will you now listen while I
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tell you about the eternal and spiritual realities which cast these transient
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time shadows of the material facts of mortal existence?" For more than an hour
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Jesus taught this Greek the saving truths of the gospel of the kingdom. The old
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philosopher was susceptible to the Master's mode of approach, and being
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sincerely honest of heart, he quickly believed this gospel of salvation.
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The apostles were a bit disconcerted by the open manner of Jesus' assent to
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many of the Greek's propositions, but Jesus afterward privately said to them:
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"My children, marvel not that I was tolerant of the Greek's philosophy. True
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and genuine inward certainty does not in the least fear outward analysis, nor
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does truth resent honest criticism. You should never forget that intolerance is
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the mask covering up the entertainment of secret doubts as to the trueness of
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one's belief. No man is at any time disturbed by his neighbor's attitude when
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he has perfect confidence in the truth of that which he wholeheartedly
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believes. Courage is the confidence of thoroughgoing honesty about those things
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which one professes to believe. Sincere men are unafraid of the critical
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examination of their true convictions and noble ideals."
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On the second evening at Ramah, Thomas asked Jesus this question: "Master, how
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can a new believer in your teaching really know, really be certain, about the
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truth of this gospel of the kingdom?"
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And Jesus said to Thomas: "Your assurance that you have entered into the
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kingdom family of the Father, and that you will eternally survive with the
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children of the kingdom, is wholly a matter of personal experience--faith in
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the word of truth. Spiritual assurance is the equivalent of your personal
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religious experience in the eternal realities of divine truth and is otherwise
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equal to your
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top of page - 1642
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intelligent understanding of truth realities plus your spiritual faith and
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minus your honest doubts.
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"The Son is naturally endowed with the life of the Father. Having been endowed
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with the living spirit of the Father, you are therefore sons of God. You
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survive your life in the material world of the flesh because you are identified
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with the Father's living spirit, the gift of eternal life. Many, indeed, had
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this life before I came forth from the Father, and many more have received this
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spirit because they believed my word; but I declare that, when I return to the
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Father, he will send his spirit into the hearts of all men.
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"While you cannot observe the divine spirit at work in your minds, there is a
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practical method of discovering the degree to which you have yielded the
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control of your soul powers to the teaching and guidance of this indwelling
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spirit of the heavenly Father, and that is the degree of your love for your
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fellow men. This spirit of the Father partakes of the love of the Father, and
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as it dominates man, it unfailingly leads in the directions of divine worship
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and loving regard for one's fellows. At first you believe that you are sons of
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God because my teaching has made you more conscious of the inner leadings of
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our Father's indwelling presence; but presently the Spirit of Truth shall be
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poured out upon all flesh, and it will live among men and teach all men, even
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as I now live among you and speak to you the words of truth. And this Spirit of
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Truth, speaking for the spiritual endowments of your souls, will help you to
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know that you are the sons of God. It will unfailingly bear witness with the
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Father's indwelling presence, your spirit, then dwelling in all men as it now
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dwells in some, telling you that you are in reality the sons of God.
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"Every earth child who follows the leading of this spirit shall eventually know
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the will of God, and he who surrenders to the will of my Father shall abide
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forever. The way from the earth life to the eternal estate has not been made
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plain to you, but there is a way, there always has been, and I have come to
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make that way new and living. He who enters the kingdom has eternal life
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already--he shall never perish. But much of this you will the better understand
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when I shall have returned to the Father and you are able to view your present
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experiences in retrospect."
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And all who heard these blessed words were greatly cheered. The Jewish
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teachings had been confused and uncertain regarding the survival of the
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righteous, and it was refreshing and inspiring for Jesus' followers to hear
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these very definite and positive words of assurance about the eternal survival
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of all true believers.
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The apostles continued to preach and baptize believers, while they kept up the
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practice of visiting from house to house, comforting the downcast and
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ministering to the sick and afflicted. The apostolic organization was expanded
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in that each of Jesus' apostles now had one of John's as an associate; Abner
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was the associate of Andrew; and this plan prevailed until they went down to
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Jerusalem for the next Passover.
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The special instruction given by Jesus during their stay at Zebulun had chiefly
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to do with further discussions of the mutual obligations of the kingdom and
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embraced teaching designed to make clear the differences between personal
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religious experience and the amities of social religious obligations. This was
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one of the few times the Master ever discussed the social aspects of religion.
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Through-
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top of page - 1643
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out his entire earth life Jesus gave his followers very little instruction
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regarding the socialization of religion.
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In Zebulun the people were of a mixed race, hardly Jew or gentile, and few of
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them really believed in Jesus, notwithstanding they had heard of the healing of
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the sick at Capernaum.
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4. THE GOSPEL AT IRON
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At Iron, as in many of even the smaller cities of Galilee and Judea, there was
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a synagogue, and during the earlier times of Jesus' ministry it was his custom
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to speak in these synagogues on the Sabbath day. Sometimes he would speak at
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the morning service, and Peter or one of the other apostles would preach at the
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afternoon hour. Jesus and the apostles would also often teach and preach at the
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week-day evening assemblies at the synagogue. Although the religious leaders at
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Jerusalem became increasingly antagonistic toward Jesus, they exercised no
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direct control over the synagogues outside of that city. It was not until later
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in Jesus' public ministry that they were able to create such a widespread
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sentiment against him as to bring about the almost universal closing of the
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synagogues to his teaching. At this time all the synagogues of Galilee and
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Judea were open to him.
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Iron was the site of extensive mineral mines for those days, and since Jesus
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had never shared the life of the miner, he spent most of his time, while
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sojourning at Iron, in the mines. While the apostles visited the homes and
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preached in the public places, Jesus worked in the mines with these underground
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laborers. The fame of Jesus as a healer had spread even to this remote village,
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and many sick and afflicted sought help at his hands, and many were greatly
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benefited by his healing ministry. But in none of these cases did the Master
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perform a so-called miracle of healing save in that of the leper.
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Late on the afternoon of the third day at Iron, as Jesus was returning from the
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mines, he chanced to pass through a narrow side street on his way to his
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lodging place. As he drew near the squalid hovel of a certain leprous man, the
|
||
afflicted one, having heard of his fame as a healer, made bold to accost him as
|
||
he passed his door, saying as he knelt before him: "Lord, if only you would,
|
||
you could make me clean. I have heard the message of your teachers, and I would
|
||
enter the kingdom if I could be made clean." And the leper spoke in this way
|
||
because among the Jews lepers were forbidden even to attend the synagogue or
|
||
otherwise engage in public worship. This man really believed that he could not
|
||
be received into the coming kingdom unless he could find a cure for his
|
||
leprosy. And when Jesus saw him in his affliction and heard his words of
|
||
clinging faith, his human heart was touched, and the divine mind was moved with
|
||
compassion. As Jesus looked upon him, the man fell upon his face and worshiped.
|
||
Then the Master stretched forth his hand and, touching him, said: "I will--be
|
||
clean." And immediately he was healed; the leprosy no longer afflicted him.
|
||
|
||
When Jesus had lifted the man upon his feet, he charged him: "See that you tell
|
||
no man about your healing but rather go quietly about your business, showing
|
||
yourself to the priest and offering those sacrifices commanded by Moses in
|
||
testimony of your cleansing." But this man did not do as Jesus had instructed
|
||
him. Instead, he began to publish abroad throughout the town that Jesus had
|
||
cured his leprosy, and since he was known to all the village, the people could
|
||
plainly see that he had been cleansed of his disease. He did not go to the
|
||
priests
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1644
|
||
|
||
as Jesus had admonished him. As a result of his spreading abroad the news that
|
||
Jesus had healed him, the Master was so thronged by the sick that he was forced
|
||
to rise early the next day and leave the village. Although Jesus did not again
|
||
enter the town, he remained two days in the outskirts near the mines,
|
||
continuing to instruct the believing miners further regarding the gospel of the
|
||
kingdom.
|
||
|
||
This cleansing of the leper was the first so-called miracle which Jesus had
|
||
intentionally and deliberately performed up to this time. And this was a case
|
||
of real leprosy.
|
||
|
||
From Iron they went to Gischala, spending two days proclaiming the gospel, and
|
||
then departed for Chorazin, where they spent almost a week preaching the good
|
||
news; but they were unable to win many believers for the kingdom in Chorazin.
|
||
In no place where Jesus had taught had he met with such a general rejection of
|
||
his message. The sojourn at Chorazin was very depressing to most of the
|
||
apostles, and Andrew and Abner had much difficulty in upholding the courage of
|
||
their associates. And so, passing quietly through Capernaum, they went on to
|
||
the village of Madon, where they fared little better. There prevailed in the
|
||
minds of most of the apostles the idea that their failure to meet with success
|
||
in these towns so recently visited was due to Jesus' insistence that they
|
||
refrain, in their teaching and preaching, from referring to him as a healer.
|
||
How they wished he would cleanse another leper or in some other manner so
|
||
manifest his power as to attract the attention of the people! But the Master
|
||
was unmoved by their earnest urging.
|
||
|
||
5. BACK IN CANA
|
||
|
||
The apostolic party was greatly cheered when Jesus announced, "Tomorrow we go
|
||
to Cana." They knew they would have a sympathetic hearing at Cana, for Jesus
|
||
was well known there. They were doing well with their work of bringing people
|
||
into the kingdom when, on the third day, there arrived in Cana a certain
|
||
prominent citizen of Capernaum, Titus, who was a partial believer, and whose
|
||
son was critically ill. He heard that Jesus was at Cana; so he hastened over to
|
||
see him. The believers at Capernaum thought Jesus could heal any sickness.
|
||
|
||
When this nobleman had located Jesus in Cana, he besought him to hurry over to
|
||
Capernaum and heal his afflicted son. While the apostles stood by in breathless
|
||
expectancy, Jesus, looking at the father of the sick boy, said: "How long shall
|
||
I bear with you? The power of God is in your midst, but except you see signs
|
||
and behold wonders, you refuse to believe." But the nobleman pleaded with
|
||
Jesus, saying: "My Lord, I do believe, but come ere my child perishes, for when
|
||
I left him he was even then at the point of death." And when Jesus had bowed
|
||
his head a moment in silent meditation, he suddenly spoke, "Return to your
|
||
home; your son will live." Titus believed the word of Jesus and hastened back
|
||
to Capernaum. And as he was returning, his servants came out to meet him,
|
||
saying, "Rejoice, for your son is improved--he lives." Then Titus inquired of
|
||
them at what hour the boy began to mend, and when the servants answered
|
||
"yesterday about the seventh hour the fever left him," the father recalled that
|
||
it was about that hour when Jesus had said, "Your son will live." And Titus
|
||
henceforth believed with a whole heart, and all his family also believed. This
|
||
son became a mighty minister of the kingdom and later yielded up his life with
|
||
those who suffered in Rome. Though the entire household of Titus, their
|
||
friends, and even the apostles regarded this episode as a miracle, it was not.
|
||
At least this
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1645
|
||
|
||
was not a miracle of curing physical disease. It was merely a case of
|
||
preknowledge concerning the course of natural law, just such knowledge as Jesus
|
||
frequently resorted to subsequent to his baptism.
|
||
|
||
Again was Jesus compelled to hasten away from Cana because of the undue
|
||
attention attracted by the second episode of this sort to attend his ministry
|
||
in this village. The townspeople remembered the water and the wine, and now
|
||
that he was supposed to have healed the nobleman's son at so great a distance,
|
||
they came to him, not only bringing the sick and afflicted but also sending
|
||
messengers requesting that he heal sufferers at a distance. And when Jesus saw
|
||
that the whole countryside was aroused, he said, "Let us go to Nain."
|
||
|
||
6. NAIN AND THE WIDOW'S SON
|
||
|
||
These people believed in signs; they were a wonder-seeking generation. By this
|
||
time the people of central and southern Galilee had become miracle minded
|
||
regarding Jesus and his personal ministry. Scores, hundreds, of honest persons
|
||
suffering from purely nervous disorders and afflicted with emotional
|
||
disturbances came into Jesus' presence and then returned home to their friends
|
||
announcing that Jesus had healed them. And such cases of mental healing these
|
||
ignorant and simple-minded people regarded as physical healing, miraculous
|
||
cures.
|
||
|
||
When Jesus sought to leave Cana and go to Nain, a great multitude of believers
|
||
and many curious people followed after him. They were bent on beholding
|
||
miracles and wonders, and they were not to be disappointed. As Jesus and his
|
||
apostles drew near the gate of the city, they met a funeral procession on its
|
||
way to the near-by cemetery, carrying the only son of a widowed mother of Nain.
|
||
This woman was much respected, and half of the village followed the bearers of
|
||
the bier of this supposedly dead boy. When the funeral procession had come up
|
||
to Jesus and his followers, the widow and her friends recognized the Master and
|
||
besought him to bring the son back to life. Their miracle expectancy was
|
||
aroused to such a high pitch they thought Jesus could cure any human disease,
|
||
and why could not such a healer even raise the dead? Jesus, while being thus
|
||
importuned, stepped forward and, raising the covering of the bier, examined the
|
||
boy. Discovering that the young man was not really dead, he perceived the
|
||
tragedy which his presence could avert; so, turning to the mother, he said:
|
||
"Weep not. Your son is not dead; he sleeps. He will be restored to you." And
|
||
then, taking the young man by the hand, he said, "Awake and arise." And the
|
||
youth who was supposed to be dead presently sat up and began to speak, and
|
||
Jesus sent them back to their homes.
|
||
|
||
Jesus endeavored to calm the multitude and vainly tried to explain that the lad
|
||
was not really dead, that he had not brought him back from the grave, but it
|
||
was useless. The multitude which followed him, and the whole village of Nain,
|
||
were aroused to the highest pitch of emotional frenzy. Fear seized many, panic
|
||
others, while still others fell to praying and wailing over their sins. And it
|
||
was not until long after nightfall that the clamoring multitude could be
|
||
dispersed. And, of course, notwithstanding Jesus' statement that the boy was
|
||
not dead, everyone insisted that a miracle had been wrought, even the dead
|
||
raised. Although Jesus told them the boy was merely in a deep sleep, they
|
||
explained that that was the manner of his speaking and called attention to the
|
||
fact that he always in great modesty tried to hide his miracles.
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1646
|
||
|
||
So the word went abroad throughout Galilee and into Judea that Jesus had raised
|
||
the widow's son from the dead, and many who heard this report believed it.
|
||
Never was Jesus able to make even all his apostles fully understand that the
|
||
widow's son was not really dead when he bade him awake and arise. But he did
|
||
impress them sufficiently to keep it out of all subsequent records except that
|
||
of Luke, who recorded it as the episode had been related to him. And again was
|
||
Jesus so besieged as a physician that he departed early the next day for Endor.
|
||
|
||
7. AT ENDOR
|
||
|
||
At Endor Jesus escaped for a few days from the clamoring multitudes in quest of
|
||
physical healing. During their sojourn at this place the Master recounted for
|
||
the instruction of the apostles the story of King Saul and the witch of Endor.
|
||
Jesus plainly told his apostles that the stray and rebellious midwayers who had
|
||
oftentimes impersonated the supposed spirits of the dead would soon be brought
|
||
under control so that they could no more do these strange things. He told his
|
||
followers that, after he returned to the Father, and after they had poured out
|
||
their spirit upon all flesh, no more could such semispirit beings--so-called
|
||
unclean spirits--possess the feeble- and evil-minded among mortals.
|
||
|
||
Jesus further explained to his apostles that the spirits of departed human
|
||
beings do not come back to the world of their origin to communicate with their
|
||
living fellows. Only after the passing of a dispensational age would it be
|
||
possible for the advancing spirit of mortal man to return to earth and then
|
||
only in exceptional cases and as a part of the spiritual administration of the
|
||
planet.
|
||
|
||
When they had rested two days, Jesus said to his apostles: "On the morrow let
|
||
us return to Capernaum to tarry and teach while the countryside quiets down. At
|
||
home they will have by this time partly recovered from this sort of
|
||
excitement."
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1647
|
||
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
|
||
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
|
||
Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
|
||
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
|
||
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
|
||
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
|
||
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
|
||
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
|
||
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
|
||
In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
|
||
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
|
||
Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
|
||
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
|
||
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
|
||
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
|
||
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
|
||
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
|
||
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
|
||
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
|
||
To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem Tuesday Morning In The
|
||
Temple The Last Temple Discourse Tuesday Evening On Mount Olivet Wednesday, The
|
||
Rest Day Last Day At The Camp The Last Supper The Farewell Discourse Final
|
||
Admonitions And Warnings In Gethsemane The Betrayal And Arrest Of Jesus Before
|
||
The Sanhedrin Court The Trial Before Pilate Just Before The Crucifixion The
|
||
Crucifixion The Time Of The Tomb The Resurrection Morontia Appearances Of Jesus
|
||
Appearances To The Apostles And Other Leaders Appearances In Galilee Final
|
||
Appearances And Ascension Bestowal Of The Spirit Of Truth After Pentecost The
|
||
Faith Of Jesus
|
||
|
||
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
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